12 dead in London Grenfell Tower fire, reports say fridge explosion may have been the cause

At least 12 people have died while many are in critical condition. Hundreds of firefighters are still trying to douse the fire at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower near Notting Hill in West London on Thursday. Reports of the fire at the 24-storey residential building, comprising of 200 houses, in North Kensington, came in at around 1 am on Wednesday.

Reports say that the fire started from a lower floor and soon engulfed the whole building. Over 200 firefighters were sent to the spot within minutes and began making efforts to douse the flames. However, after over 24 hours, the firefighters are still struggling to completely douse the flames.

In the aftermath of the heavy fire that broke out at the Grenfell House tower block on Wednesday, the Government led by Prime Minister Theresa May is receiving flak for not paying heed to the fire safety warnings that were issued.

Hundreds of firefighters battled to rescue residents from their flats after the fire broke out at Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road, near Notting Hill as the blaze rapidly engulfed the full height of the 27-storey block.

The London Ambulance Service Assistant Director of Operations Stuart Crichton confirmed in a statement that over 50 patients were admitted to five hospitals across London following the incident at the Grenfell Tower.

"Over 100 of our medics are working hard to respond to this incident, including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, advanced trauma teams from London`s Air Ambulance and those staff managing the incident in our special operations centre. In addition, our hazardous area response teams are also on scene," the statement added.

While the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, residents in the vicinity had reportedly raised an alarm regarding the possibility of a calamity, which was allegedly not tendered to.They also claimed that due to renovation activities in the block, there was one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower, which created a hassle in the evacuation procedures.